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		<img alt="S. N. Korsakov" src="../picture/korsakov_min.jpg" />
		<h1>
			Korsakov's</h1>
		<h1>
			“Intellectual machines”</h1>
		<h5>
			<a href="../index.html">Русский</a>
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					<span>Main page</span>
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				<a href="GomeoWithU.html">“Intellectual machines”</a>
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				<a href="Khrono.html">History</a>
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				<a href="Biblio.html">Bibliography</a>
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		<p>
			This site is dedicated to our outstanding and noble compatriot, Semen Nickolaevich
			Korsakov (1787–1853), an informatician, who was unfairly forgotten and rediscovered
			in the second half of the 20th century.
		</p>
		<p>
			Korsakov is considered to be a pioneer of informatics and artificial intelligence
			both in our country and abroad. In 1832 he set a target to boost mind power by creating
			scientific methods and devices. This target was closely related to the modern artificial
			intelligence concept which regards it as an enhancement of natural intelligence.
			He created five mechanical devices, the so-called “intellectual machines” to search
			and classify information, where he used, for the first time in the history of informatics,
			punched cards. His works contain a range of innovative ideas for that time, which
			can be called today a multicriterion search according to the relative importance
			of the criteria (weighted coefficient), a tool for data array processing, which
			preceded modern expert systems.
		</p>
		<p>
			Korsakov used punched cards as a somewhat “knowledge base”, which connected essence
			(ideas) with its signs. Korsakov, a well-known homoeopathist, showed how the machines
			worked by giving a simple example of medicine search according to the disease. A
			highly-qualified doctor could create a punched table which determined medicines
			(essence) to treat diseases diagnosed by a set of symptoms (signs). The columns
			in the table showed the medicines (essence) whereas the lines showed the symptoms
			of the disease (sings). The punched holes in some of the lines in each column showed
			a range of symptoms of the disease to be cured by a most suitable medicine. Once
			created, such punched table could be duplicated and a less qualified medic, e. g.
			a rural medical assistant, could choose a medicine according to the symptoms by
			using the table and Korsakov-machines without even having an opportunity to diagnose
			the disease! It should be stressed that Korsakov himself regarded the abovementioned
			method as a particular case for using his inventions. In general, he realized that
			the machines could be used to solve a number of applied tasks: “can be used to solve
			various tasks in everyday life to make a conclusion”. It is easy to see that this
			precedes modern expert systems and a partial mechanization of mental activity.
		</p>
		<p>
			In 1832 Korsakov presented his ideas to the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St.
			Petersburg as well as published a brochure where he described the device and the
			functioning of the invented machines. Unfortunately, neither the method nor the
			inventions were truly appreciated by his peers. They never got any state support
			and were unfairly forgotten.
		</p>
		<p>
			In 1961 several documents from the Academy's archives regarding Korsakov's application
			were published, which attracted the attention of cybernetics professor of Moscow
			Engineering Physics Institute (National Research Nuclear University), Hellius Nickolaevich
			Povarov (1928–2004). It was him whom we should be grateful to for reinventing Korsakov's
			inventions.
		</p>
		<p>
			In the 1980s Povarov first the first time drew attention to the importance of Korsakov's
			inventions in the history of informatics; he carried out his own scientific research,
			found the original Korsakov's brochure in the Russian State library and in 2001
			published the results of the research.
		</p>
		<p>
			This site is based on the materials from the Russian translation of Korsakov's brochure
			published by Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in 2009.
		</p>
		<p>
			Korsakov's works are in fact an unexpectedly found treasure of both Russian and
			world history of informatics and cybernetics.
		</p>
		<p>
			The web-site contains:</p>
		<ul>
			<li>
				Original drawings and the construction description of Korsakov's machines.</li>
			<li>
				Interactive visualization of all five “intellectual machines”.</li>
			<li>
				Brief history of Korsakov's inventions.</li>
			<li>
				Short biographic data about Korsakov and Povarov.</li>
			<li>
				Bibliography of books related to Korsakov's inventions.</li>
		</ul>
	</div>
	<div class="footer">
		<p>
			Site builder – Bilyalova A. A. (asena.89 [] mail.ru), Vizualization of the Korsakov's
			machine – Bilyalova A. A., Boiko М. V., Translate to English – Sophiya Gorman.</p>
		<p>
			Scientific adviser – C. of e. s., associate professor Mikhailov А. S. (almikh []
			mail.ru)</p>
		<p>
			<a href="http://cyber.mephi.ru/">Cybernetics's department of NRNU MEPHI</a></p>
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